THE VOICE OF MARINE

Allseas planning world’s largest construction vessel

Swiss offshore services firm Allseas is reportedly considering building a ship larger than its Pioneering Spirit — currently the world’s largest vessel in terms of gross tonnage.

North Sea oil and gas operators have contacted Allseas for platform removal concept research, according to the company’s CEO, Edward Heerema. The new vessel, to be called Amazing Grace, will be designed to remove the largest oil platforms offshore Norway and the UK with a single lift.

Heerema told Reuters that Amazing Grace would cost about $3 billion to build and boast 50% more lifting capacity than the Pioneering Spirit. At 160m in length, it would also be one third longer than its predecessor, which removed Shell’s Brent Delta platform in the North Sea last year.

The new vessel’s single-lift technology would be faster and more cost effective than other platform removal methods, Heerema claims. An investment decision on Amazing Grace is not expected for three years.